Reviews

Based on a recent I decided to give 2S a try. The location has been a tough one over the years, as numerous restless have come and gone. Hope 2S gains a foothold here as it's a nice addition to the neighborhood.

The menu is SE Asian, focussing mainly on Thai and Malaysian. I dined solo, so decided to try a combo meal, which consisted of a very freshly cooked vegetarian spring roll, a skewer of chicken satay, a green salad, beef rendang and a quite large bowl of rice, all on a single plate. The rendang was falling apart soft, very tasty and moderately spicy. It was also a very ample portion. Overall I would rate the food very good.

Service was prompt and very friendly.

Ambiance is good, the exterior of the building is quite nondescript, but once inside it's newly remodelled and quite pleasant.

I found 2S to be very solid value and plan on returning soon with my family.

Early Bird Special - Excellent quality food and service in a beautiful setting - at 1970s prices

Submitted Friday, March 11, 2011 - 12:10am [Dine in]

Well... if you're prepared to eat dinner starting between 5 and 6 pm this has got to be one of the best value for monney meals ever - 50 percent off all the menu items (excluding desserts). Prices are very reasonable to begin with given the quality and ambience of the Wildflower. Today we started with a caesar salad (good, but nothing special); a poached pear and walnut salad that was wonderful - nice mixture of textures and flavours highlighted by a generous amount of blue cheese; and a seafood chowder that drew raves for its smoked salmon and quantity and quality of seafood. The basket of fresh breads was excellent - 3 or 4 types of rolls plus a couple of large pieces of Armenian flatbread.

The mains impressed similarly - as noted by another reviewer the prime rib was probably a 12 ounce piece and was cut with a butter knife tender. The Yorkshire pudding and roast vegetables complimented the meat beautifully. The cioppino and pan fried snapper were good choices, but the snapper is definitely not the choice for anyone with an appetite after skiing or hiking - a tasty but very small portion. Although we didn't need it as we were already completely full, we finished our selves off with the chocolate fondue for dessert. Wow! It was nice - high quality chocolate with fruits, biscotti, banana bread chunks and home made meringues to dip with. The only miss wwith this dish - the meringues were over the top sweet - none of us could eat them.

There is nothing too innovative about the Wildflower`s menu - but eery item we had was extremely well executed and presented. We were impressed.

Service is friendly and casual. Water glasses were refilled promptly and quality checks occurred after each course was started. The only slight quibble I had was that we weren`t told in advance the dessert items weren`t included in the half price deal. But hey, For $59 (pre-tax and tip) for three starters and three mains of this calibre,,,,,its minor.

Ambience is faux chateau. It`s quite understated though and pulled off pretty well. Nice high ceilings and great views of the lower slopes of Blackcomb. It`s a pretty big room, but the geometry is such that sounds don`t get out of control loud.

As I said off the top - this meal is all about value. Excellent quality food and service in a beautiful setting - at 1970s prices. it`s a full 5 stars from me for value. And I would definitely go again at the early hour.

Based on the reviews submitted here and the fact that this restaurant is just a couple of blocks from my Mom's apartment; we decided to take her to Ginger & Soy for her birthday dinner. As the previous reviewer recommended, we tried the seafood hot and sour soup to start. Though not very much spice, the soup was nevertheless delicious. Plenty of scallops and shrimp and a generous bowl ample enough to serve six.

Mom is a lemon chicken, chow mein and sweet and sour pork fan and those dishes didn't disappoint. All were served piping hot and crisp. The ma po tofu is a good vegetarian choice, while the shanghai rice noodle medallions were a highlight. The medallions have a dumpling like texture - quite chewy - and were not like anything we had tried before. Next visit I would ask for a little more spice in the spicy green beans - they were a little too tame for my taste.

Dessert is not something we usually get in Chinese restaurant. The desserts are not Chinese, but they are excellent. My son loved the lemongrass ice cream, which is made in house I believe. The chocolate fondant was an amazingly creamy experience.

Service was prompt and friendly. The teapot was checked and refilled frequently. The hostess came around several times to check how we were enjoying the meal.

Value in my opinion is very good. The prices are higher than many places with dishes in the $14 - 16 range generally. Serving sizes are quite generous. It is also not the typical multi page menu. Next time we will order more of the chef's recommendations and stay away from some of the more mundane dishes we had this first visit (unless Mom is joinung us again).

By the way, nice to see Dine Here let's you upload photos now. I think my pictures from this dinner speak much better than my words.

After reading some of the initial reviews here and passing by several times I decided to try Sushi Town for a quick dinner rather than my usual Japanese fast food just down the block. Definitely my new go to place on the North Shore for quick and inexpensive Japanese.

Miso soup was tasty and hot - good value for $1. Same can be said for the salmon and toro nigiri - large fresh pieces for a dollar. Spicy agedashi was really good, but not the best I have had (the spicy salmon agedashi at Sushi Sen in Squamish is by far the best I have tried). Gomaae was just okay - a little too much sauce for my taste.

Service was very friendly and cheerful but a little disorganized. I was there early on a Wednesday night and it was already quite busy. Waitresses were dashing around lots trying to keep pace with people arriving for take out, taking phone orders, and running food. They need more than three front of house staff when it's that busy.

The ambience of the place is quite a bit nicer than other low budget sushi places in the area - smooth jazz was playing, there were two big screen TVs in a partitioned off lounge area, and modern decor.

Outstanding value in Whistler sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but Pasta Lupino is the real deal. Where can you get a bowl of pasta for lunch for a little over six bucks? Let alone Whistler. Let alone fresh, house made pastas and sauces. For $6.35 you get a bowl of pasta with a choice of three house sauces - we had tomato and basil. We also added a salsiccia sausage for an extra couple of bucks. The pasta was simple and basic, the sauce was flavourful. The bread that accompanied was warm and very fresh. Truly great value here...and a steal for Whistler. The downside? Only about six tables so can probably get to be a wait sometimes.

The Capilano Heights Chinese Restaurant is a very popular spot (especially for seniors) in North Van, a popularity I can only conclude attests to the dearth of really decent Chinese restos on the North Shore. We bring my Mum here every once in awhile as she, and all her friends love it. Lemon chicken, deep fried prawns, cashew guy ding and all the usual dishes are actually quite well prepared, if a little too much on the bland side. Service is quick and the setting is nice, with almost half the space in an atrium garden room.

Decided to try Aka Tom Bo based on the best on the North Shore ratings and reviews here on Dine Here. Have to agree it's really good. They have a wide selection of special rolls - we tried the Canuck roll and the Crunch roll, both very good. Also have some other good rolls, including mango spicy tuna and smoked salmon and avocado which were excellent. The only thing that stopped me from giving the food 4 stars was the presentation - the rolls were obviously made extremely quickly, and it showed. A little more care would go a long way here.

One really nice surprise was the way Aka Tom-Bo serves their agadashi - the quite large tofu cubes are served on a separate plate rather than in the sauce. You just dipped each piece in the accompanying sauce, so there were no soggy pieces at the bottom of the bowl. Great idea.

The restaurant was very clean, the ambience is fine for a lower end place and the service was very prompt and friendly. We will definitely be returning soon.

I'm not going to complain or criticize Ba Le. How can you when you can have a quick, basic lunch for two for under $6! We both had the shredded pork for $2.75 - the banh mi are fresh but the bread was tasteless and the sandwich was generally meh, flavour wise. Service is friendly and there are a couple of tables. Most customers were grabbing take out while we were there.

Have been going to La Casa Gelato for several years now and have always enjoyed it, especially tasting several of the exotic flavours. The past few times there I have not been impressed as the flavour is just not there.

I have been making my own chocolate gelato at home and La Casa's just does not come close to my home made. 99% of the time I order a chocolate variant of some sort at La Casa or any other gelato shop for that matter. My chocolate English toffee the other day simply lacked flavour. I don't know if they are cutting down on the quality of their ingredients; but I do know it will be awhile before I return.

Ajisen Ramen has outlets all over Hong Kong and I tries several when visting there a few months back. A great place to stop in for a quick, cheap and decent bowl of ramen. So I was looking forward to checking out the fairly new Richmond location in Parker Place mall.

The decor is an in your face shocking pink that takes a little getting used to. I actually quite liked the ambience. I found the ramen to be quite satisfying, a decent sized bowl; and yes, a little thin on the pork. But very good value and taste overall.

Service was prompt, friendly and helpful. Food arrived quickly, but couldn't catch a servers attention when it came time to pay. No big deal though.

Would I go out of my way for these cream puffs? No. Would I go to Aberdeen Mall and not visit Beard Papa's again? No. We tried one each of the chocolate eclair and plain cream puff. Loved both. Two was more than enough. We were there around 11 am and the cream puffs were very fresh tasting so our experience was not the same as the previous reviewer who commented that one should go in the afternoon, not morning.

We had an excellent meal last Friday to start a weekend of Asian dining in Vancouver. The fragrant jasmine tea to start was quite unique to me. Served in a clear teapot, it is quite photo worthy - and tasty.

We had stuffed chicken wings to start. They were some of the tastiest we've tried. Then on to garlic thai pork, egg noodle pad thai and mixed veggies in green curry sauce. The garlic pork was a little light on the pork but way heavy on the garlic. If you're a garlic lover try this dish. I love egg noodle pad thai - they serve it at Thai House and that's the only reason I go there once in awhile. No need to any more as Rose Thai makes an excellent version.

The owners have done a nice job of converting this former Greek restaurant and the ambiance is white table cloth but still informal. Service was prompt and courteous. Prices may be slighly more than some other Thai places but Rose Thai is definitely worth checking out.

For a Friday night the restaurant wasn't too busy - five of about a dozen or so tables occupied at 7:30. Like I said in my title, I hope there's room for two Thai places on this stretch of Marine Drive and I hope it lasts.

Three of us went for early dinner this past Saturday night and had xiao long bao, cherry pork on bean leaves, spicy chicken with peanuts and house special noodles. Only minor disappointment was the noodles cause they were the thin type and not quite what we expected. Quite large portions of this and the other dishes made for a second meal next day though.

As others have commented, and the xiao long bau were excellent. Also, the cherry pork on bean leaves was the pleasant surprise of the night. Wow! Extremely tender, though fatty, pork in a flavourful brown sauce. I have never tried bean leaves and they were delicious. The chicken and peanuts dish was also very good, lots of peppers but only mildly spicy.

Service was typically perfunctory as we have come to expect.

We went for the food and quality, portion size and value was great - thus my four * rating overall.

Tried Hachi Hana last week after reading the favourable reviews on Dinehere. Trouble was I didn't remember the name and when we got to central Lonsdale we found 5 or 6 Japanese places between 13th and 15th. We tried Hachi Hana as it was the busiest of the lot.

We are very much creatures of habit when it comes to Japanese. Spicy agedashi, chicken kaarage, gyoza and gomaae will usually be found on our table. This night we also tried yakisoba, as well as three rolls and a few pieces of tako. The hot dishes arrived at our table HOT, which I really appreciate. All the food was delicious and worth the few extra dollars over the plethora of budget places around.

Off season in Whistler is when those of us of relatively modest means have an opportunity to try some of the fine dining places, as many restaurants offer three course prix fixe menus at this time of year. La Rua offers their regular menu with a choice of an appetizer, main and dessert or 2 appetizers and a main. What a special treat it is.

The food was flawless. Amongst our party of three we tried Ahi tuna, duck spring roll, seafood tower and lobster-crab cake to start. All were excellent but the spring roll and the seafood tower stood out.

For mains we tried the sablefish, bouillabaisse and rack of lamb. Each of these dishes had a wow! factor about them that earned the 5 rating. The bouillabaisse was a very generous portion loaded with seafood and served with espellette pepper rouille - which traditionally is added to the soup base for flavour according to our waiter, nut which we used as a spread with fresh bread. The sablefish was served in a dashi broth with soba noodles, shimejji mushrooms and edamame beans. Wow! The broth combined with the buttery smooth sablefish was sublime. The rack of lamb was cooked to perfection and was tender and tasty.

Service was professional yet casual. Water and wine glasses were filled promptly when low. Napkins were folded when someone got up to visit the washroom. The pacing of the meal was just right - not slow, but not rushed either.

For fine dining of this caliber it's definitely not an intimidating environment. There are white linen tablecloths, but I would say the room is neither trendy cool nor romantic - so casually elegant I guess.

Not much too add to what's already been said. Food was edible but glistened with grease. There was a limited selection of dim sum items. Service was pretty much non-existent. Decent room. Inexpensive. Won't return.

Earl's is a good, reasonably priced choice in Whistler. Generous portions, nice presentation, and mild spices add up to nothing really special, but good value overall. Chocolate sticky toffee pudding for dessert was the definite highlight of the meal.

After fairly recently trying Imperial and Victoria Chinese downtown and reading the good reviews here, I was a little underwhelmed by Top Gun Hot Pot. Dim sum prices were a little higher and the quality not quite as good as the downtown places. That said we did enjoy our meal and highlights were the shrimp dumplings and very light textured steamed pork buns. Interesting to walk around Crystal Mall afterwards.

Despite the fact there is a huge Greek population in Sydney, Asustralia, every time my brother (who lives there) comes back to visit the North Shore he has to go to Pasparos. Says he just hasn't been able to find anyplace anywhere near as good in Aus. After our large family gathering there a couple of weeks ago I can see his point.

It's very rare to see much variation in Greek restaurant menus but Pasparos does seem to offer a changing variety of specials. We stuck with the traditional items though. Had a dinner for two - which consisted of a large platter of roast lamb (concur with rustygull below), calamari, moussaka, dolmathes (all very good), and a so-so spanakopita. Plus there was a second plate of Greek salad, roast potatoes and veggies. With the tzatziki and pita that came as a starter - this was more than plenty for two of us and our 10 year old.

The HSG was the second of our two DOV dinners this year. aWe went on Saturday February 2nd, the second last day of the event. We were prepared for serevice to be somewhat below par by this point in DOV but that was far from the case. In fact the service was a stand out.

Thinking traffic and parking would be a nightmare (there was a concert at GM Place, a tractor pull at the dome and it was the last Saturday of Dine Out) we left the North Shore over an hour before our reso time. Found parking in a snap however, so were a half hour or more early. No problem, even though the HSG was full, Chef Wyles found us a table in 10 minutes or so.

Tuna starters were excellent, but, as mentioned below, the sauce was a little too salty. Steaks were excellent and the gingerbread pudding well deserves its reputation. Would go back for that alone.

Everything went very smoothly, timing was right on and our server was extremely friendly. Great job guys!